There’s a certain responsibility that comes with playing the action heroine. It extends far beyond the slaying of a pack of bloodthirsty werewolves or rescuing a victim in peril. It even trumps self-preservation. It’s about protecting that holy grail of moviedom: the franchise. 

Rhona Mitra knew the task at hand when she signed on to star in Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, the third installment of the popular Underworld films. It’s a prequel to the other two movies, released in 2003 and 2006, respectively. Set in the Middle Ages, the sleek vampire/werewolf series has built a core audience of fans drawn to a mythological world that features a female heroine as its central character. 

Kate Beckinsale starred as Selene in the first two films, a Lycan (werewolf) hunter seeking revenge for her family’s death. In the prequel, Mitra plays Sonja, the daughter of Viktor (Bill Nighy), the vampire king. Michael Sheen (most recently seen as David Frost in Frost/Nixon), reprises his role as Lucian, a Lycan who shares a passionate relationship with Sonja, and is torn between his duty to her race and their forbidden love. “I wanted to adhere to what has already been created and bring more wonderful stuff to the table if I can,” she adds. “Sonja’s a very passionate, physical, ferocious woman, and she has this wonderful balance of having a huge heart. There’s almost a ‘son that Victor never had’ quality about her, which is the antithesis of the Underworld that went before—the very slick, quiet environment that was created.”

Mitra fondly recalls her time on the ABC series The Practice, which spawned the spin-off Boston Legal. Her character, Tara Wilson, joined the cast with James Spader during Season 7. “Basically, they wanted us to come in and stir up some trouble,” she reveals. 

“Because James and I came in at the same time, we were partners in crime, and that’s a pretty strong ally to have.” Although Mitra’s acting credits weren’t as extensive as Spader’s, she had worked a bit in television, whereas Spader had not. “I think we did quite a lot of hand-holding.” 

Mitra remembers when she decided to seriously pursue acting as a career. She was 17. But the seed was planted ten years earlier when she met Judi Dench, whose daughter was a classmate of Mitra’s. “She came to pick her up from school and I remember meeting her and I thought she was such an extraordinary woman. She had this resonance about her. I said, ‘What does your mummy do?’ and I logged it away.” 

By 2000, Mitra had landed a smattering of small parts in film and TV. Then she was offered a part in the horror/thriller Hollow Man. She took the role, in which she is raped by an invisible Kevin Bacon. “It wasn’t fun at all. [But] it was a way to get involved in a big studio film, which is more of a business decision than anything else,” she explains. 

Mitra’s affinity for edgy comedy seems to contradict her sultry, polished look and proper British accent. She sought out a role in Sacha Baron Cohen’s 2002 film, Ali G Indahouse. “I was alarmed at his approach to comedy [and] by his bravery,” she says. “I can’t remember what I’d just done, but it definitely wasn’t light. I just wanted to be in the same environment as him and see him work and I thought it would be really great fun.” 

A year later, she took a bit part in the Farrelly Brothers’ Stuck on You. “That was just a case of come along for the day and literally show your face, and I said, ‘Yeah, absolutely.’” Mitra realizes there are those who, on the surface, may question why she would accept such a role. For her, the payoff was the chance to see talented filmmakers do their thing. “I wanted to see how it all works. All broad comedy like that is an environment that I ordinarily wouldn’t have been a part of.” 

Early on in her career, when she was 19 or 20, Mitra was presented with a unique opportunity to collaborate with Eurythmics alumnus Dave Stewart on an album, “Lara Croft – Female Icon.” Some would say that her singing voice sounds like dark, velvety chocolate meling in the throat of a jungle cat. Mitra describes it as “…kind of low talk, kind of William Shatner singing.” She was hired, she says, “to get inside the mind of Lara Croft as if she were a real life character.” She contributed all the lyrics (“There was some pretty deep stuff in there for me at the time”) and recorded the entire album on a boat, floating down the Amazon River. “It was not a shabby project. It came out the same time as
the video game.” 

Being convincing in an action role, Mitra believes, is an innate ability. “Someone can present you with a choreographed routine, whether it’s with swords or with fists, and you can replicate that, but it comes down to attitude. And that can’t be taught.” 

styled by Becks Welch

makeup by Troy Jensen

hair by Campbell McAualey